Light-shield for moving-picture machines.



J. A. CAMERON.

LIGHT .SHIELD FOR MOVING PICTURE MA APPLIoA'rIoN FILED Nov. 21, 1910. v

Patented-goet; .17', '-191 1,

J. A. CAMERON. LIGHT SHIELD FOR MOVING PICTURE MACHINES.

, APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1910.

Patented 0111.111911. 4|

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2;

JAMES A. CAMERON, or New rozen, N. Y..

LIGHT-SHIELD FOB. MOVINGPICTURE MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pafnted 001;, ,17 1911i,

Applcation'led A'November 421 1910. Serial No. 5.93334.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known'that I, JAMES CAMERON,l

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Light-Shields for Moving-Picture Machines, of which the following is a specication.

The principal object of my invention is to protect the film from the heat of the lantern or source of light.

As well 4known in the moving picture art,

a very strong light has to be used for proA jecting the pictures, and the heat generated by this intense light is considerable. Unless the film is properly protected from the heat, it -is liable to .become ignited or otherwise injured; This liability of iire has always been a constant source ofA danger in moving picture machines, and although tire shields have been proposed heretofore, they have all been more or less inefficient and have only partially protected the iilm.4

According to my present invention, the film is eftectually protected from the heat of the light source tween the projector or moving picture machine and the source of light, and b v providing a free air space between the fire shield and the ferred form the'fireA shield consists simply of a substantially Hat plate of metal or other non-intiammable material, which is supported in front of the projector and is provided'with an opening in line withI the eX- posi/ire openingof the machine. By reason of this arrangement all superfluous light rays are intercepted before they reach the machine, through the opening in the shield may be made to correspondin sizeto 'the exposure opening of the machine. The beam of light j thus be reduced tothe proper size in -inay andV b v A'so being` fof just the proper size advance of the exposure opening,

to pass through the exposure-opening, it will impart practically none of its heat to the mem-l by interposing a shield be machine itself. In its pre-l and the-beam of light which passes j ber in which the exposure openingis formed. And furthermore, any heat4 that may be absorbed by the tire shield is preventedfrom being communicated to the machine andthus to the film, by the existence of the free air space between the shield and the machine.

Another great object of my invention is to interconnect the ire shield with the moving picture machine or with the' lanter'nso that the machine. cannot be operated. with out the fire shield beingtirst in operative position. This result may be accomplished in various ways. shield may be operativelyV connectedwi'th a movablev part ofthe moving picture machine, such as ya gate for holding the film in .proper relation to the exposure opening,l insuch a way that they shield will be moved to its operative position when the gate or other part is moved tothe proper'lposition'for operation of the machine. Y i Various other objects and features ofthe invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my 'invention but I would liaveit undeistoodthat various modiications and changes may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. j l

' In thel drawings Figure lis a view partly in section and partly in side elevation of a moving picture machine, showing an em- For instance, the fire bodiment of my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the invention takenat right angles to Fig. 1.'

characters denote corre-` Like'refe'rence throughout f theseveral sponding parts views.

The invention' in its simplest form con! sists preferably of a plate l of suitable material, such'as' sheet steel, which .is interposed between the lantern lor source of light 2 (shown diagramaticaiiy projector or moving picture machine 3. The

moving picture machine is provided with the customary exposure which vthe beam of light'passes on its way to in Fig. and the opening '4' through the screen. This exposure opening may be formed in a film support 5 over which the film passes, and for the purpose of holding the film in its proper relation to the exposurehopening, the machine lnay be provided"'withl a holding device of some sort ,isuehjfas the gate 6. This gate is of course provided with `an opening 7 in line with the exposure opening of the machine. To pern mit of the film being threaded vthrough the machine, this gate -or holding member is preferably capable of a movement toward and away from the film support and for this reason the gatemay be mounted to swing on a pivot 8. A latch 9 may be utilized for normally holding the gate in clamping relation ,with respect to the film. The film, as islwell known, is 'given an intermittent advancing movement through the machine, suitable means being employed for imparting this advancingmovement to the film.

Inasmuch as the means for intermittently advancing the film forms no part of the present invention, such means has not' been illustratedi At the time of imparting the intermittent :advancing movement to the film, its`is highly desirable that the tension of the holding member or. gate upon the film be temporarily released. For this reason some means are usually provided for intermittently releasing the pressure of the machine.

The fire shield may be supported in front of the exposure opening of the machine in any suitable way. Preferably, however, it is supported by the machine itself so as to in fact form a portion of the moving picture machine. In order that the fire shield will notvinterfere with the action of the gate when the same is opened, to permit thread ving of the film through the machine, the

shield is preferably pivotally supported at. ya point near the upper end of the machine.

And the shield may in fact be engaged on the same pivot 8 upon which the gate is swung. By an arrangement such as this the fire shield will be swung open by the movemeut of opening the gate and without in any way interfering with the action of the said gate (see dotted lines in Fig. l). The arrangement just described also provldes for the free air space 14 between the-fire shield and the film support or other member which carries the exposure openlng.

As a device to prevent the machine -from being operated before the fire shield is in proper position, the fire shield is preferably interconnected with one of the parts of either the moving picture machine or the lantern, so that the fire shield must be moved to operative position beforev the machine is capable of being operated. This may be provided for in a very simple way by the use of an abutment carried by the gate and adapted for engagement with the iire shield to position the same when the gate is closed. This abutment may simply be in the form of a screw lcarried by the gate, the stem of the screw passing through an opening 16 in the shield, and the head of the screw engaging with the face of the shield when the gate is closed. The shield is thussupported in front of the exposure opening in such a way as not to interfere with the intermittent clamping action of the gate or holding member, and at the sametime the parts are so interlocked that the gate cannot be closed without position-a ing the fire shield. It is usually desirable in threading the iilm through the machine to hold lthe gate open during the threading process. As a convenient means for thus holding the gate open, the fire shield may be provided with a pivoted lever 17 which, when the parts are thrown open, as in the dotted lines in Fig. 1, will ufall down, and engaging with thev table or other support, hold the gate and fire shield in open position.

The fire shield may be made in any desired shape, but in any event it preferably has the central portion thereof enlarged so as to intercept all the superfluous light rays issuing from the light source see Figp2). An opening 18 is provided in the shield in alinement with the exposure opening of ,the machine for the passage of the beam of light to the machine. This opening is preferably made of the proper size to reduce the beam of light to just the right proportions to pass through the exposure opening of the machine. In this way all superfluous light rays are intercepted and since the beam of light, when it reaches the exposure opening, is either exactly or approximately the size of such exposure opening, it will impart practically none of its heat tothe member in which the exposure opening is formed.

In-connection .with my invention I prefer to employa fire shutter 19 for intercepting the beam of light when the machine is at rest. This fire shutter is preferably located in front of the opening in the fire shield, and the shutter itself may be conveniently supported by the gate, as indicated at 2.() in Fig. 1. This shutter maybe of what is known as the centrifugal type, in which a centrifugal governor 21, carriedA in the balance Wheel 22 of ythe machine (see Fig'.v

I open when the film is to shutter. according as to whether the inacliine is run-ning or at rest. This fire shutter is not of 1n)v own invention antil onlv claim it in its connection with the fire shield.

vliat is claimed is: Y

l. In combination with a moving picture machine having a member provided with an exposure opening therein. a gate arranged to cooperate with the said member.l a pivotal support for said gate. and a fire shield engaged on the said pivotal support so as to have' a movement corresponding to the swinging movement of the gate.

2. In combination with a film support, a swinging site arranged in clamping relation thereto. means for actuating said gate to intermittently clamp and release the film passing between the gate and film support, a. the gate. having a swinging movement'. corresponding to the opening and closing-move-- ment of the gate, and means 'for supporting said fire lshield whereby it will be unaected by the clamping action of the gate.

3. In combination, a. moving picture machine having a movable part which mustv occupv a certain position' when the machine is to be operated, and a fire shield supported independent of the movable part and operatively connected with said movable'part, whereby said fire shield will be moved to operative position when the movable part is moved into position for the operation of the machine. i

l. In combination, a moving picture machine having a film holding member vmov- ,.abie into and out of holding engagement with the film` and a fire shield supported independent of the film holding member 'and operativeli1 connected with the film holding member wherebiY the film holding member vwiien moved into operative engagement with the film will move the fire shield into its operative position.

5. In combination, a moving picture machine providedwith a film holding gate movable into and out of holding engage-- ment with the film. a fii'e shield supported independent of and in front of the gate and niovablevto permitvtlie gate being swung be inserted in the machine. and means connecting the fire shield with the gate wherebv7 the fire shield will be moved to operative position when the gate is closed.

o. The combination with a movingl picture machine provided with a film support and a swinging gate adapted to hold the film against-the film support. of a fire shield ari'a-nged in front of the gate and adapted to bepmoved b v the opening and closing of the gate. with respect to the film support.

7. In combination, a movingl picture ma- 4chine having a member provided with an fire shield disposed in spaced relation -t-ol y to intermittently clamp and exposure opening therein, a gate for holding the film in operative relation to the exposure opening movable toward and away from the member aforesaid, a fire shield located in 'front of the gate, and a means of connection between the gate and shield whereby when the gate is closed in operative position the shield wi'll be likewise moved to operative posit-ion. l t

SarIn combination with a movingpieture machine, a fire shield pivoted lua'izontalli` on the upper portion of said machine and vadapted to swing open with respect to the machine, and means for holding the said shield -infits open position.

9. In'coinbination with a moving picture niachiiie,l a .fire shield suspended from a 'Y horizontalpivotmounted at the upper end Aoff-the machine whereby the lower end of 'theshield may be swung open with. respect tlowtlie' machine, and a pivoted lever carried .by the shield adapted to fall, down as the l' shield isv opened to support the shield in suchopen position.

10. In a .moving picture machine, a film support provided with .an exposure opening therein, a gate pivoted at its upper end oii a horizontal 'pivot so as to be capableof; swinging toward' and aw'avy from the film support, and a fire shield located in front j of the gate and also suspended from a horizontal pivotso as tol be capable of a swinging movement in unison with the swinging movement of the gate.- l l1". In'fa moving picture machine, a film support provided with an exposurel opening therein, a gatevpivoted at its upper Ifend on a horizontal l'pivot so as'to be capable of swing.- iiig toward-and away from the film support, means fol actuating said gate to interinittently'c-lanip and release the film passing between 4the gate and film support, and a fire shield.locatedifnffronbof the gate and also suspended from a horizontal pivot so as to be capable ,fof a swinging movement in unison v'with the. swingingv movement of the gate.

1Q. In combination with a film support, a gate arranged in clamping relation thereto, means for actuating 'said gate to intermittentli7 clamp 'and release the film passing between the gate and film support, a fire shield disposed in 'spaced relation in front of the gate, and means for supporting` said fire shield independent of the gate whereb v it will be unaffected by the clamping action of the gate.

13. MIn combination with a film support, a swinging gate arranged in clamping` relation thereto, means for actuating said gate release the film passing between the gate and film support. a fire shield disposed in spaced relation to the gate capable of a4 swinging movementin unison with the opening and closing moveactuating the gate to intermittently clamp I .and lm support, and a re vshield locatedl '4: laooaess ment of the gate, and means for supporting said fire shield whereby t'will be unaffected by the clamping action of the gate.

14. In combination with a film support, a gate arranged in clamping relation thereto and supported on a horizontal pvot so as to be capable of a swinging movement toward and away from the film support, means for in front of the gate and suspended from a horizontal pivot so as ,tobe capable lot a swinging movement in unison with the opening:V and closing movement ofthe' gate. 15 Signed at New York in the county, of New York and State of New-Yo1'k this 4th day of Nov. A. D. 1910.

' JAMES A.. CAMERON. VVitnesse's:

LAURA E. SMITH, AXEL V. BEEKEN and release the ilm passing between the gate 

